Honored Persons

 

Maria Schaumayer

Maria Schaumayer (born October 7, 1931 in Graz, † January 23, 2013 in Vienna) has become known as the world's first female president of a national bank, in her case, the National Bank of Austria, which she headed from 1990 to 1995. Prior to that, she made a name for herself as an economist and politician (ÖVP). Schaumayer studied at the University of World Trade in Vienna and at the Juridical Faculty Innsbruck. She worked in the banking sector of Creditanstalt Bankverein, most recently as a representative. From 1969 to 1982 she was a member of the Vienna Province Council and local council. She was responsible as a city councilor responsible for urban enterprises (city councilor) and for building and other technical matters until 1973. After her political career in the city of Vienna, she was CFO of OMV from 1982 to 1989, today a major oil and gas company. From 2000, Maria Schaumayer was government representative for the compensation of forced laborers under the Nazi regime. She participated in the conclusion of bilateral agreements between Austria and six European states and the US, and reached an agreement with a group of plaintiffs represented by lawyer Ed Fagan. The establishment of the Austrian Fund for Reconciliation, Peace and Cooperation has given compensation to some 132,000 former forced laborers. Maria Schaumayer described herself as an "icebreaker" for women.